What do Sex, Food and Social Media Marketing Have in Common?

From creating expectation, to being unexpected, from creating desire to being memorable and even shareable, great sex, great food and great social media marketing have a lot in common. So how do you turn marketing into something people actually look for and look forward to?

Great sex, great food and great marketing create desire then make us feel good

Women and men often dress nice, sport seductive scents and wear expensive jewelry to make themselves sexually attractive. Cooks intentionally make food smell and look good to make us want it. Likewise, good marketing creates a desire that your brand or product satisfies. Develop marketing ideas and executions that create an expectation of amazing things to come, then be sure to deliver on that promise.

Great sex, great food and great marketing involve other people

The best sex and food experiences usually happen with other people. When was the last time you couldn’t wait to tell your friends about the night you and yourself hooked up at the club? Or the amazing sandwich you made yourself? Never. You never told that story. The same goes for good marketing. The best marketing gets others involved. Set up situations in which fans of your brand can create content in the form of videos, photos, fan art, songs, graphics and memes, and then facilitate the sharing of that content. Make your fans into rock stars by publicizing their love of your brand and products.

Sharing stories about great sex, great food and great marketing is fun

I don’t care if you’re 18 or 80, when you have amazing sex or eat a good meal you want to tell people about it. I’m not talking about routine man and wife stuff or your weekly pilgrimage to Arby’s. I’m talking about the out of the out of the ordinary, crazy stuff, like when you’ve just finished something that involved $200 worth of sushi, 2 gallons of pistachio ice cream, whip cream and a blow torch... and that was the sex.

Likewise, you see a hilarious or crazy video and the first thing you want to do is share it with a friend. You want to tell people about it. “I just saw the funniest video...” or “You’re not going to believe this... I just sent you the link.” A recent study from the Harvard Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab concluded that sharing content stimulates the nucleus accumbens, the part of the brain linked to rewards, pleasure, addiction, sex and food. Develop interactive content that gives fans opportunities to share information about themselves. Create marketing that stimulates sharing behavior and you’ll have an army of people uncontrollably sharing your brand messages

Great sex, great food and great marketing are spontaneous, unexpected and memorable

OK, at least they feel that way. We all know that spontaneous sex really started earlier in the evening with decisions about what to wear, what to drink, leading up to who’s place or who’s car’s backseat we’re going back to. And spontaneous food started in the prep kitchen early in the day. And spontaneous marketing started with a creative brief weeks or months prior. But that doesn’t mean they can’t feel spontaneous. Keep your marketing real. Let it feel as though it’s something you just thought up. Nobody likes canned speeches and nobody likes canned marketing.

Wherever possible, go for the surprise twist or shocking ending. And no, I’m not talking about the part of the evening where a sexy clown bursts out of the closet with more ice cream, cables and a battery charger. I mean the kind of videos, ads, OOH, graphics, memes and social media updates that not only authentically truly capture the brand’s voice, but create a memorable disruption that separates your brand from the rest.

Great sex, great food and great marketing keep them coming back for more

Imagine a world in which fans of your brand actively seek out your social media marketing. Develop and execute great content and that world will exist. Branded entertainment like that crazy mofo that just jumped out of a balloon at the edge of space for Red Bull actually works. And you don’t have to go all the way to the edge of space to do it. Short, funny video ads, video series, photos, memes, contests and giveaways keep fans on the lookout for what you’ll do next. And just like with great sex and great food, be consistent and dependable but mix it up once in awhile.

One Response to “What do Sex, Food and Social Media Marketing Have in Common?”

The crossovers are rather fun, David, if you start to play with your analogy.

For example: not sure about short and funny as a good "device" for sex.

I found your article fun and appropriate! Especially enjoyed the implicit concept of avoiding "canned sex" and of the need for mixing it up. Sex and social media marketing needs to be interactive, Amen!